Collective Social System is a prerequisite for Establishing Human Rights in Society
A discussion session was organized by Ethnic Community Development Organization (ECDO) with the collaboration of Manabadhikar Shangskriti Foundation (MSF) on 10th December, 2022 to celebrate the International Human Rights day. The session was presiding by Mr.Faruque Mahmud Chowdhury, the president of Human Rights Defenders Network where Professor Dr.Faisal Ahmmed, Former Dean of Social Science Faculties, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet and Professor Anwara Begum, Former Head of the department of public administration, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology were attended as a chief guest and special guest respectively. Mr. Golam Faruque Rasel, Assistant Professor, Department of Law and Justice, North-East University, Sylhet was the chief discussant at that event.
The program was started by the inaugurated speech of Mr. Lakshmikanta Singh, Executive Director of ECDO and the Member Secretary of the Human rights defender Network Sylhet. Right after that, Coordinator of ECDO Ms. Nongpoklai Sinha presented a multimedia presentation based on the project of Defenders of Human Rights Sylhet (DHNRS) where she depicted the data and picture of current human rights situation in Sylhet division.
Based on the theme of this year’s International Human Rights day – ‘Dignity, Freedom and justice for all’, the participant has discussed on different related issues of Human Rights. Initially, the chief discussant Mr. Golam Faruque Rasel started his speech by providing a brief academic description on the history of United Nations, provisions of Universal Declaration of Human rights (UDHR) and the provision related to our constitution. He also said that, Human rights can’t be defined by only some specific rights and these rights are inherent, indivisible and non-transferable. Moreover, he further emphasized that Democracy and Human Rights are complementary and supplementary to each other. Considering the overall situation of the Human rights of Bangladesh, he said that human rights of the country are now in developing stage. The people of our country should be more aware of the ‘access to rights’ and ‘access to information’.
Chief Guest Professor Dr. Faisal Ahmmed started his speech by providing a brief explanation of different scholar’s thoughts on the term human rights violation. He said that it is not possible for a person to practice the culture of human rights in a self-centered society; rather, collective social system is a pre-requisite for establishing human rights. He also added that many developed states of the world are violating citizen’s rights in different forms, so it is not only the issue of our country. In such situation, amalgamated effort of ‘each and every’ state actor is necessary for establishing human rights in our society. Except that, the indigenous communities of our country are most marginalized communities and they are facing discrimination in terms of their fundamental rights. These are the clear evidences of human rights violation in our country. The Professor finally concluded that the culturally diversified communities of Bangladesh aren’t a burden but should be considered as asset and we should be proud for these culturally enriched communities. If we can ensure the representation and maximum participation of these diverse communities in a single platform, they can create pressure on the Government to ensure dignity, justice and peace in the society.
Advocate Syeda Shirin Akhter narrates the terms ‘Dignity, freedom and justice’ and said, ‘When any incident of human rights violation occurs we have to be forceful together for establishing human rights.’ Mr. Abdul Karim Chowdhury Kim, General Secretary of Bangldesh Poribesh Andolon(BAPA), Sylhet expressed his concern about the culture of practicing human rights from the early childhood and he also asserted that the role of the family is vital for providing a positive growing environment for children. Parents should teach children to respect people irrespective of their religion, caste, sex and different opinion. Former President of Sylhet District Lawyer association Advocate Emad Ullah Shahidul Islam, Somoy TV Bureau Chief Ikramul Kabir, Vice Principal Subal Chandra Das, Milon Oraon spoke among others. Finally, Mr. Faruque Mahmud Chowdhury announced the end of the program by strongly condemning all human rights violations in Bangladesh that happened in 2022 .
